Page 3 from: January / February 2008
V I E W P O I N T
Some weeks ago, I was at a benefit concert forChristina, a Zimbabwean woman who, after a
three-month stay in the Netherlands, had to return
home because her tourist visa had expired. Two
Dutch pals of mine met Christina five years ago dur-
ing a holiday in Zimbabwe and have been friends
ever since. Actually, Christina is not her real name
but, nowadays, the police in Zimbabwe tap tele-
phone calls and monitor the e-mails of its citizens, so
it may be wise to conceal her true identity.
The evening featured dancing and singing but
focused around auctions to raise money for
Christina and her family. Paintings, clocks, theatre
tickets, toys, whole Gouda cheeses, wooden shoes,
sculptures, clothing and jewellery – all were auc-
tioned off on the night. In
the end, my friends were able
to put more than US$ 5000
into Christina’s Dutch bank
account.
This may not be a lot of
money to some people, but
to Christina it is a small for-
tune because she is almost
the only member of her fam-
ily in Zimbabwe to have a job. She takes care not
only of herself and her grandmother, mother, sis-
ters and their children, but also of her uncles,
aunts, nieces, nephews and their children. In total,
more than 30 people depend on her in Zimbabwe
where the stores are empty and food can be bought
only at sky-high prices on the black market.
So every couple of months, Christina travels by
bus from the Zimbabwean capital Harare to South
Africa, withdraws money from her bank account
and buys as many essentials as she can carry –
mostly corn flour, oil, salt, washing powder, soap
and sugar. Then she travels back to Zimbabwe,
praying that the customs or the police won’t take
too much away from her. And when the food is gone,
she repeats the 17-hour journey to Johannesburg.
Although she still has a job, Christina never
knows whether she will get paid. And after several
weeks of water and power supply disruption in
Harare, she has reached the conclusion that she can
do more for her relatives by leaving Zimbabwe than
by staying. So she has decided to find a job abroad
and send home the money she earns.
Christina is 40 years old, single and a
Zimbabwean national. For the last 17 years, she has
worked in Zimbabwe as an automotive electrician.
She has been engaged mainly in fault finding and
diagnosis – for example, in overhauling starters,
alternators and generators, and in rewiring rebuilt
vehicles. She has experience with all kinds of vehi-
cles, including light and heavy trucks, buses, pas-
senger cars and fork lifts. In addition, she has been
training apprentices and semi-skilled workers. In
her various jobs, her responsibilities have included:
supervising ten members of
staff in an automotive work-
shop, quality control, and
time and spare part manage-
ment. Her hobbies include
watching soccer.
Christina would prefer to go
to New Zealand because her
brother already lives there
and works as a car mechan-
ic. Now I know that Recycling International has
more than 90 readers in New Zealand and that
Kiwis are generous, warm-hearted people. And
I also happen to know that the country has a lack of
skilled workers. So if there is anyone out there who
would give Christina a chance – or knows of a com-
pany to which she could apply for a job – please let
me know. I’ll pass it on to her and she will contact
you when she gets to New Zealand, which will be
in the next four to six months after she has taken
care of business in Zimbabwe – so long as she suc-
ceeds in obtaining a visa.
If you’re not able to help Christina with a job in
New Zealand but would still like to support her
family, just drop me an e-mail at man-
[email protected] and I’ll send you
the relevant details. In this way, you would be help-
ing an entire Zimbabwean family – and isn’t that a
great way to start 2008?
is a month ly busi ness mag a zine for
the inter na tion al recy cling indus try
and is pub lished 10 times a year.
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Manfred Beck
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Contributing edi tor/Consultant tech nol o gy
Prof. Ir. Wijnand Dalmijn, Technical
University of Delft, The Netherlands
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Member of
The unrelenting difficulties faced by some people can
make every-day business problems seem vanishingly
small by comparison. This sad truth was brought home
to me again when I heard Christina’s story….
Job wanted!
BIR
‘You would be
helping an entire
Zimbabwean
family.’
Manfred Beck
Editor
RI_037 Viewpoint:Viewpoint 24-01-2008 09:41 Pagina 3
